Let's Explore our Memory: From Ancient Metaphors to Modern Theories

Interesting title, right? It's a long blog-isode, but I can assure you it won't be boring.

Let's start from the beginning:

People have often likened the human memory to a large storage place. This idea dates way back to the Greek philosophers and St. Augustine, who talked about the "roomy chambers of memory, where countless images are stored." This analogy, where memories are thought of like things put into compartments, kept for a while, and then looked for, is a common theme in both ancient and modern thinking.

About twenty years ago, a significant idea emerged that gives a contemporary twist to this metaphor of memory. Unlike Augustine, who thought of a single memory warehouse, this theory suggests that there are several storage systems, each with its unique properties.

The idea comes from the fact that memory can cover events from both years ago or just moments ago. Normally, we usually think of memory as related to the past in hours, days, or years. But if we think about it, we realize that memory kicks in as soon as the stimulus(the event) is gone. For instance, when we look up a telephone number and remember it just long enough to dial, even if the time between getting the number and using it is only a few seconds, it still counts as a memory.

This now introduces what we call the stage theory of memory. It's a theory that suggests that there are different memory systems. We have the short-term memory which as it's name implies, holds information for a short duration, and long-term memory which stores materials for much longer, sometimes a lifetime. Well ofcourse, you can never forget the alphabet(A-Z) till the day you die. That's a classical example of a long term memory that will last for a lifetime.

The other important point about this theory is that it makes as to understand that information goes through successive stages to enter these two systems: actually, it first goes through our Senses(eyes, ears ...) then to the short-term store before reaching the long-term system.

A fascinating thing is that memories of events that happened recently or a long time ago have some important differences. Some relate to how we consciously experience these memories, while others involve the storage capacity of the two suggested memory systems.

A key distinction between short-term and long-term memory is related to awareness(consciousness). Things that happened recently and are still in our consciousness are considered part of short-term memory, while those not currently in our consciousness but can be remembered or recognized are seen as part of long-term memory.

This difference seems to match how we consciously go through our remembered past. A lot of our past feels like it's over and done with, like the movie we watched last night or the dinner we enjoyed an hour ago – we remember them but don't experience them again. However, this isn't the case for certain events just a few moments back. For instance, when we hear a melody, it feels like we're perceiving it in the present, even though the first chord has already faded by the time the last note reaches our ears. What's still in short-term (primary) memory feels like it's happening now, while what we need to recall from long-term (secondary) memory feels like it happened in the past.

Fascinating Right?

Also, interms of storage, the short-term memory can hold much less information compared to long-term memory. Long-term memory has a huge capacity.

We can figure out how much short-term memory can hold by looking at the memory span – that's the number of things someone can remember after seeing them once. In regular adults, this span is pretty steady. If we use random letters or numbers, a person can usually remember about seven items, plus or minus two. This specific quantity, 7 plus or minus 2, is known as the magic number. George Miller(an American psychologist) came up with this term, and it's widely used to describe this memory capacity.

As per Miller, this number shows how much the short-term system can hold, in other words, the number of things that can fit into its storage at once. Some argue if this number, 7 plus or minus 2, is truly accurate for short-term capacity, but everyone still agrees that short-term memory can hold only a very small amount.

Short Break Test

What is the relation between short-term and long-term memory?

According to the stage theory of memory, the way to long-term memory always goes through the short-term store. Thinking about it this way, you can see short-term memory like a loading platform for the big long-term warehouse. A parcel that stays on the platform for a while might end up in the warehouse, but most parcels don't make it there.

Things in short-term memory don't last very long. For instance, when you're driving a long way to work or school, you might notice lots of random stuff like people jogging, shops opening, or a kid crying. You might even see someone impatiently trying to overtake in a traffic without getting caught. But just a few moments later, these experiences feel like they never happened.

One reason may be decay: The memory trace becomes eroded over time by some unknown physiological prOcess, so its details become
progressively less distinct. Another possibility is displacement: Items are somehow pushed out of memory by other items, perhaps those that enter later or those
already there.

The strongest evidence so far shows that both decay (stuff disappearing) and displacement (other things pushing them out) are part of why some things on the memory platform vanish. In either case, it's clear they can't stick around on the platform for long.

This quick forgetting from short-term memory might actually be a good thing. Without it, our memory systems would be filled with a mess of useless information. Think about switchboard operators – they'd struggle if they couldn't forget a number as soon as they dialed it. Because the platform has limited space, it has to be cleared fast to make room for new things.

Source

The Bus Stops Here for today:

Thanks for joining me in today's blog-isode. I really hope you had a great time, as much as I did. I would be happy to hear your thoughts on this topic or on my blogs. As always, I enjoy doing this, and I want to make sure you enjoy reading. Until tomorrow, stay safe.